E 198 
1.S79 
Copy 1 



DIARY 



KEPT AT THE 



SIEGE OF LOUISBURG 

March 11 — August 2, 1745 



Wiitl) Notes antj an IntrotJucticn 

BY 

SAMUEL A/GREElSr 



SV. 



CAMBRIDGE: 
JOHN WILSON AND SON. 

1909. 



^. C»u. ^AJB_£>W_„ 






DIARY AT THE SIEGE OF LOUISBURG, 

MARCH 11 — AUGUST 2, 1745. 



At a meeting of the Massachusetts Historical So- 
ciety held m Boston on Thursday, February 11, 1909, 
Dr. Samuel A. Green, in communicating a copy of a 
journal kept during the first siege of Louisburg, said : — ■ 

At the June meeting of the Historical Society in 1897, I 
presented a copy of Lieutenant Dudley Bradstreet's diary, 
kept at the siege of Louisburg in 1745. At the time of 
that meeting the diary belonged to Miss Sarah Coburn 
Kemp, a descendant, who afterward gave the original man- 
uscript to the Society (Proceedings, second series, XIX, 
83). Unfortunately, it was imperfect, and at the begin- 
ning lacked entries covering a period of six or seven 
weeks. I now have to report the gift of another diary 
kept during that campaign by a member of Lieutenant 
Bradstreet's company, which to an interesting degree sup- 
plements the other diary. It was found two years ago in 
the garret of a house in Bolton, which was originally a 
part of Lancaster, and is presented to the Library by John 
Calvin Lawrence Clark, town clerk of Lancaster. It is 
Mr. Clark's opinion that it was kept by Benjamin Stearns, 
a member of the company from Lancaster ; and he bases 
his judgment on the resemblance of the handwriting to 
other examples of his penmanship now in existence. From 
the first entry in the diary I am inclined to think that it 
was written by one of the fourteen men who marched from 
Groton, on March 11, 1744-1745; but I defer to Mr. 
Clark's judgment. Of these men John and Daniel Pierce 



were brothers, sons of Daniel and Eleanor' (Boynton) 
Pierce. 

Whoever the writer of the diary may have been, evidently he 
belonged to the same organization as Lieutenant Bradstreet, 
who was an officer in Captain John Warner's Company, 
Fourth Massachusetts Regiment (Colonel Samuel Willard). 
Captain Warner was a resident of Lancaster, and presum- 
ably his company was made up of soldiers belonging there 
and in Groton and neighborhood, though no muster roll is 
now extant. It is known that there were several other 
Groton men in the company besides those mentioned as 
marching on March 11, as their names are found in Brad- 
street's copy. 

The entries in Bradstreet's diary begin on April 22, 
1745, and end on January 17, 1746, while the entries in 
the present diary begin on March 11, 1745, and end on 
August 2 of the following summer. It is interesting to 
note that the record of each journal confirms that of the 
other to a great extent; and a few of the entries made 
in the present one, particularly during the latter part of 
June, appear to be almost identical with those in the 
other. 

It is well known that Colonel Willard's regiment was re- 
cruited at very short notice, certainly in less than a month ; 
and probably there were not more than fifty or sixty 
volunteers in Captain Warner's company. Of this number 
probably one half was from Lancaster and neighborhood, 
and the other half from Groton and neighborhood ; and in 
the absence of any formal record this estimate may be 
taken as a fair one. Presumably a similar squad of men 
marched from Lancaster, perhaps on the same day as the 
other squad left Groton, and they came together after 
reaching Boston, although the diary does not mention the 
fact. It will be seen that there is a marked contrast 
between the literary attainments of the two diarists, which 
is not surprising, as Lieutenant Bradstreet was the son of 
a Harvard graduate and a lineal descendant of Governor 
Simon Bradstreet. From time to time the diary gives a 
date or an item which fits into other accounts of the siege 
so well that occasionally, like a piece in a child's puzzle, 
it rounds out the whole story. I have printed it without 



change, and no attempt has been made to correct either 
the style or the spelling. The writer evidently was not 
familiar with the New England coast, and in his entries 
he has greatly confused the names of various capes and 
other places. 

Memarandom march 11 : 1744/5 : then we Depart[ed] from 
groaton Namllj Dudly Bradstret and Benj? Willson Benj* Lakiu 
Jonathan Lakiu Jacob Nutting Daniell Blood John Chamblin 
Stephon Barron finnes Barron Isaac Kent Aaron Boynton gidin 
Sanderson John Parce & Daniel Parce from grotou to Concord : 
11: march and from Concord To Charlston : 12 : & att Charlston we 
staid : 5 : & on the 18 : we went on Board and their we staid 3 : 
days & then wee sailled from Boston to a place called king roade i 
& thar we staied : 4 : days and from thence we sailled By Cape 
Can [Ann] & from thence we sailled to a place called Sheep Cutt 
harbor river [Sheepscott Bay], march : 27 : & there wee staid till 
y^ 29: of the . . . s'' month and then we sailled [to] a place called 
Conopshot [Penobscot] and [P]eneyquid & then to the Bay fundy 
and their we was Two Days the weather was Exeedeiug Bad for us 
their arose a greate storm and the seas run mountains high and it 
did rain very heard and the wind Did Blow very heard so that Wee 
was fain to let Down our sailes and lett Drive wheir the seas 
would Carrey us and a terriable storm we had so Bad that I 
thought that Every minet would Be the Last and in the mean 
while our men was Exceedeiug six and Did vomit & as if they 
would dy and in this Troublsom time and in the mount of Di- 
filkety I hope Every man called upon his god for his Deliver and 
after sum time the reain and wind did abate and the seays kept 
hurrcagining in sum measuer and By the goodness of god who is 
wiling to save and succer all them that put their trust in him he 
Biesed us with a fair wind and Brought [us] By cape sables 
(But their is one thing that I did forgit in my writing in the 
storm a afors*^ our men was Exedeing sick and did voraet very 
much as if they would Dy the seas runing mountaining and I hope 
god Every man thought upon his god as for my part I did not now 
But Every minet would be the Last when we should Be swallowed 
up in the deeps [)] on the first of aprail we hoisted sail and sailed 
[out] of the Bay fuiiday and By Cape Sambers [Sambro] and then 
by Port Looter [Latour] & thence by a place called Bevears 
[Beaver Harbor] and from thence to a place called Cape Negeors 
[Negro] Harber and from thence to a place called the Cuntry har- 

1 President's Hoaiis in Boston Harbor. 



6 

ber. th : 4 : and their we went on shoer and on : th : 5 : & : 6 : days 
we Lay : at : an : ankir : th : 7 : Day of the mouth on : Sunday : we 
sailed about : 3 : Leages out of s^. place towards Canso and the 
wind Being contray we droped anker again and went on shoor 
and their we found : 2 : graves and a bord set up at the head of 
their graves wheir 2 mens names was writton : viz : John pinkham 
and thomas hinkins Buried in the year: 1737: on monday the : 8: 
we hoisted sail again and the saim Day we pased by a place called 
white head [White Point?] and from thence we sailed to a place 
caled Canso and on the 8 of aprail By the goodnes of god we all 
arived at our Desiered haven and Droped ankor on th : 9 : afs^ 
month it reained so that we could not git on shoor on the : 10 : 
Day we went : on shoor and our squardren was joyned whereoff 
Colo? Ritchman [Richmond] was our commander on : th : 17: of : sf 
month their was an inglish Brig Brought in that was taken from 
Captain Loveing in the year 1744 Laden with : 5 : hundred hogsits 
of rum and sum melasoes whereon was a cownsil of war hild on 
the : 18 : Day to see if our men could not keep sum of the rum 
and other for the suport of the fleet and on the saim day their was 
brought in a prize She was taken one Day from the Inglish and 
the next Day retaken By Cap? Bekit [Beckwith] and Cap- Deun- 
hue [Donahue] on the next day their was : 2 : prizes brought in 
taken By viz Dunehu and Bekit a french Brig an a Cape Can 
sooner was Brought in the former of them was Laden with Pro- 
vison and other for the suport of the french : and the saim day just 
att night our men thought they P^spied a french man of war and 
they all maned them selves and hoisted sail and after them they 
went to see if they could take her and in the Evening we heard 
severall guns and on : th : 19 : Day sum of our men found a pakit 
of Letters on shoor which we did conculed that the french flung 
over Board when our men fought with her the Pakit was rapped 
up in a peace of parchment and : on the saim day their was Brought 
in another prize on monday : th : 29 : Day of aprail we sailed 
towards Cap briton & on Tuesday : the : 30 : af : s'! : month we 
went on shoor and when we was a Landang their came betwen 2 
or 3 hundred of french and Indins to Debar us from Landeng but 
by the goodness of god wee all Landed saif and well and had a 
scurrmigg with them and sum of them we took Wee took and 
killed : 17 : on the saim Day that we went on shoor : and traviled 
about : 3 : miles towards the sitey and then we pitched our carape 
not far from the sitey : on : may the : 1 : our men took : 8 : and 
: on : may : th : 2 : they took : 6 : moor and after that took the 
grand Batry and severall cows and horsies and sum plunder viz 
sum pots sum kitles sum gridirons sora one thing and sum another 



and Burnt several houses : may : the : 3 : our men took : 10 : moor 
of the French and shoot several greate guns from the grand batery 
through the goviner house and did Begin to play upon them finley 

4 then we fixed our artilery and did Begin to fling our Bumes into 
the Sittey and made netorious work with them and their Buldings : 

5 : our men took one french man and one negor man may : 6 : on 
the Sabarth Day ^ our men took : 9 : french men and : 2 : wimon 
and the same day our guner was wonded and four of our men by : 
over-loding their guns : 10 : then our men took : 4 : french moor : 
11 : Tuesday our men took : 5 : moor : 12 : 4 : of our me[n] wounded 
and the saim day one off them Died 23 : day of may Sergant 
Corly Died in the year 1745 and on the : 19 : Day of the saim 
month Cap' parss ^ was killed and a famos and a worthy gentle mane 
he was counted Bothe for corige and conduck and a man that 
sought y*" good of his shoulders as well as the good of his king and 
cuntry on the : 20 : same month our men took 20 moor french 
wimon and children and still our men keep fierang again the wals 
of the sity and their houses & most confused work they made with 
them : by beteing Down their walls and their gats and their forts 
By Bumeing them we toor their houses : and killed severall of 
them as we have heard sence we took this sitty their is one thing 
worthy of our remark one of our cannon balls kiled six french att 
one shoot : we sot sum of their houses on fier in the town : by 
shooteing Buraes but by their craftness they put them out again 
and By the way in this : dificketty times we lost sum men and 
sum wounded : admirall Warrin took a ship judged to be worth 
near a milion of money : my : 23 : our men took : 10 : french men 
and on the : 26 : about : 200 : hundred and : 80 : of our men went 
to take the Island Battrey and as near as we can tell we Lost 
forty : odd in the fight when they was a Landeing, Sum their head 
was cut off and sum their arms and other casuealty that they met 
with So that they was Destroyed and cut off after this our men 
shoot red hot Bullets into their houses and a Mongst them in the 
streets and when they saw them rool along the streets they went 
to take them up Burnt their hands they Not noying they was hot 
so by shooteing the read hoot Ball it sot many of their houses on 
fier but they By their craftness Put them out a gain may : th : 29 : 
Being the Election Day.' 

1 The writer sometimes makes a slip in regard to the day of the week : 
the sixth of May, 1745, fell on Monday, and the eleventh of May on Saturday. 

- Joshua Pierce, senior captain of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment. 

^ Alluding to Election day at home in Massachusetts, which fell on the last 
Wednesday of May. 



8 

* 

June the : 2 : our men took : 7 : french men and : 3 : wimon and 
in a fight that our men had with the french & Indins our men 
killed and wounded 40 of them as we heard and was informed 
credablly By them that was their 

June : th : 3 : then Cap' warren took a ritch prize that was Laden 
with Provison for the french Jun : th : 4 : then our men took : 
17 : french and killed : 2 : of them June.: th : 5 : then one 
french man came out from the sitey and : pretending to Be a frind 
But we found that he was a trator and we secured him fast June : 
th : 6 : then our sea forces took 2 french ships Laden with rice 
and other provison for the surport of the french and the same day 
their came out one french man to our men and resined him self 
up to them he Being a youngstir June th : 8 : then we was in- 
fourmed that sum of our men took considrably many of the french 
wiraon and children Sum sade the number was : 70 : and others 
said Not soo many and as to the seartain number I never could tell , 
June : 10 : then our men took two Ships of considrably value then 
in a few Days after : 3 : of our men went on Board the man of 
war to help and assist them on the sea Because they put : GO men 
on Board a sixty gun ship which they had taken from the french : 
25 : was in that compney which our men was in on fryday they 
went on Board and they tarred till the Tuesday folowing and at 
night they came home all well June : th : 16 : 1745 then the sitty 
was Delivered into our hands and we took Posesion of all their 
strong holds and all the glory of Leouisburg the Island Battery 
and all their strong holds with all their artillirys of war and an 
Exedein strong place it is as Ever I did hear off or see in all the 
corse of my life the walls are in sum places are towards : 30 : foot high 
and at sum places toward 60 : odds foot through the hole siteyacion 
of the sitey is Exedeing strong Botii by Sea and land and their 
are : 100 : and : 40 : odd ambercars [embrasures] round the wals : 6 : 
Brass guns are plased alonji: with the rest and : 6 : morter peaces 
along side of the walls and in the town : 37 : swivle guns are 
plased upon the walls and other invenchions to Destroy us when 
we was ingaged against them and the grand Battrey is an Exede- 
ing strong place also their are ambercars for : 35 : greate guns the 
walls are very high also Espeshaly by the sea side the Barraks 
are of an Exedeing great Length and strong with all the watch 
Boxesis are strong as the former maid with stone and lime sum 
part of them are Bum proof So that it will stand any Bums or 
Bullets and all round the watch Boxes in the gard house in Every 
hole their is a place fixed for swivle guns 

21 : Removed our sick to houses towards the sitey and : 2 : men to 
look after them 



9 

: 23 : Sunday cloudy and foggy : 18 french men made their Escape 

yesterday Brought in their snap sacks and armes and provison & 

wear commeted to prison : mr moody ^' preacht in the four nook at 

the camp from provibers : th : 8 : 6 : mr Longdal ^ preacht in the 

after Noon from hebrews : th : 3 : 13 : the artillery mov'! from the 

fascins Battery 24 mon'y raney cloudy and foggy Cap' rous came 

in but did not now that the place was taken till he sent his boat 

on shoor att the camps 

25 : tuesday Capt Rous came in to Louisburg from Boston and 

Brought in : 2 : Bums morters & : 2 : 50 : cannons ^ 

26 : wensday fine weather 27 cloudy and foggy and raney Exede- 

ing much and that day we Removed to the housen towards the 

town 

28 : foggy and oliver green [of Groton] dies and is bured five 

mereens are whipt 29 wett weather Northeing remarkably this day 

30 mr moody preacht at the chapiell in the four noon & mr 

Crocker in the after noon his text was Psalms : 56: : 12 : 

July mondy : th : 1 : fair weather : 2 : a compney comes in and did 

not now that the place was taken till sum of them came to : our 

houes wheir we dwellt 3 : wensday a man of war came in with : 

200 : shoulders to goo to annoplos to veleave our men that went 

their Last sumer several vessels went out Sum for france with 

prisoners and the others for New England 

July : 4 : Severall moor vessells went out with transports to 

france 

5 : fryday Corprall Laken order^ Stephen barron to go gard the 
armes at which Sf Barren told Corpral to kiss his ass ! for which 
abusive afrunt he ordered him to ride the pikets one our [hour] 
Colo : Choot comes from New England with : 2 : compnies of men : 

6 : fine groeing weather Cap' Rous sailed for England for : re- 
quits and the Councill sent for 9535 = 2:6 : starleing to reapar 
the Breachess that our cannon and Bumes had made in the sitey 
& against the walls and upon his saling the men of war fiered a 
Number of guns Capt Snelleing comes from Newengland with 
solders July : th : 7: Sunday fine weather mr : moody preacht 
in the four noon in the chappill in the barrox in the sity and in 

^ Samuel Moody (H. C. 1697), minister of York, Maine, who died on August 
13, 1747, aged 72 years. 

2 Samuel Langdon (H. C. 1740), a native of Boston and minister of Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, afterward President of Harvard College. He died on 
November 29, 1797, aged 75 years. 

3 Bradstreet makes the same incredible statement. Probably by cannons 
the diarist meant guns or muskets. This expression among the soldiers may 
have been slang for guns much in the same way as in modern times pistols 
are called " guns." 



10 

the after noon mr williams ^ and mr bolch ^ in the suburbs in the 
after noon his text was : 1 : peter : 3'' : 19'' : 20 vercies Sung : 2 
Last staves : 84 : : ps : Sung 2 : Last staves in the : 73 : : Ps : Two 
men of war went out a cruseing and sum Vessels came in 
July : 8 : monday Nine cap' viz one out of a rigment Being a com- 
mittee To search the vessells to see if they had not goot sum- 
theing that they should not carry off that was prohibeted : and 
in seeharcing they found : 7 : or 8 hundred pounds worth of loron 
& brought itt on shoor Capf Dennhews ^ : Vessell came in with 
that sorifull News viz they was in the gut of Canso and : 7 : Indins 
made sins as if they wanted to come on bord and sf Dennehuw 
went to goo on shoor he and the rest of his ofFsiers and when 
they came at the shoor their appered : 2 : hundred : Indins and 
fiered upon them and Destroyed them they was cheefly ofseirs the 
Neumbr being : 12 : and after they had Barbeusly Butchr'* them 
they burnt their bodys to aschies 

Ju : 9 : Tuesday fine weather our compnies was called to the sittey 
but for what I do not now July : 10 : very plesent weather onlly 
in the morning foggy & misty But after wards clears off and is 
curis weather July : 11 : thursday fine weather a Number went to 
reasing Vessels they reased a scooner that Never had bin to sea 
Shee is about : 40 : tun this is the : 3f : vessel that has bin ras"*. — 
A Number of our committy consist of Nine Cap! viz one out of a 
Rigment our Cap! being one of : sf commity went to the grand 
Battry and in searcheing they found lorn and sum clotheing con- 
sidrabl value. 

J 12 : fryday fine weather another vessel raised moor considrabll 
Plunder brought on shoor from the vessels Several shallops comes 
in with french : &c : 

July : 13 : Saturday clearer weather sf com" went in search of 
plundr and found and Brought severll boats Lods on shoor : viz' : 
sum bar Iron sum spiks sum cabis and other Lumber : 30 : stearle- 
ing found by one of our com" severall scholops of french comes in : 
J : 14 : Sunday cloudy & foggy : &c : in y'' foor noon mr willims 
precht from : 1 : of chron'^^ : 13 : 20 21 : «fe 22 : sung : 20 : : P : S : 
[Psalms] in the after noon mr fairweather * Preacht from y^ 1 : of 
chron : y'^: 11 : & : 13 : on sf day Took a french prize Shee was 

1 Elisha Williams (H. C. 1711), who had been President of Yale College. 

2 Thomas Balch (H. C. 1733), minister of the second parish in Dedhara, 
now Norwood. 

8 Capt. David Donahew, of Marblehead, who commanded a sloop in the 
fleet. 

* Samuel Fayerweather (H. C. 1743), chaplain on board of the frigate " Mas- 
sachusetts," Capt. Edward Tyng. See Sabine's " Loyalists of the American 
Eevolution" (I. 419). 



11 

taken by Cap'^ fletcher and he informed us that the ship that our 
men had a chass when we was in canso that shee arrived att 
Cannodo : : 32 : Dkys agoo : 

15 : monday fine Weather. July : 16 : the sun arose clear in the 
morning but Presently clods up and is foggy Several vesselis coms 
in from New England with shoulders consisteing of 500 : 
Wensday : 17 : severall of our men goo home : viz : L : Whitcomb 
En : hutching : Serg : godfree : Serg : Wainer Corprol Jonson : J : 
Willard gordin hutching : Went on search after cattle and found : 
3 : horciss & : 5 : cows : 

: 18 : thursday thanks giving mr Williams Preacht 
A sheep Deliver'! to Every compney and one pint of wine^ to 
keep thanks giveing with our sheep after the guts was taken out 
moor fitt for a Lanthoru than to Eatt Som compnies comes in : 
19 : fryday fine weather 

A ship sailed for france Loded with transports with a flagg of 
truce 20 Saturday cloudy and raney a flagg of truce sailed for 
france with transports 

21 : Sunday Raney in the morneing mr Williams preacht in the 
foor noon from John : 20 : 31 : and in the after noon the old Eng- 
land people mett att the barrax & the churchmans text was in 
psalm : 1 : 16 : 12 

vessels comes in from Newengland Brought in men women and 
children July 22 : monday fair weather 23 : Tuesday two of our men 
of war went out after a ship and when they came up with hir they 
fired severall Bow guns and sum chase guns att hir and then one 
brod side and then shee struck to us and shee was Laden with 
silks and sattins and a great quantney of silver and goald and 
other Ritch Lodeing Shee had allso : 700 : men on board hur 

24 Came in New recurets from New England to help us 

25 fair and plessent weather northe[ing] remarkably this day 
: 26 : plesent weather 

July 27 : Raney and foggy and thick clouds Notheing Remarkabll 

this Day I lay too awhal 

th : 28 : fine weather and pleasent and on sf Day their came in a 

Ritch prize that our men had taken a day or Two ago Shee was 

Loaded with pepper and other ValabuU Lodden 

J th : 29 : raney and foggy and sum thick clouds moor men comes 

in from New England to help us sumtheing of a curmuge Betwn 

sum of the Land : armey and the seafarreing men 

J 30 : foggy and cloudy 

J 31 : raney and mistey notheing remarkabl this day 

1 The wine served out to tlie men at this time undoubtedly was loot taken 
from the enemy. 




LlBRARt.?L.J°SSl 

12 

0U 696 983 fl 

August: 1: 1745: thursday fair and clear u..^ piesent wether 
nothing remarkable this day as have heard 

2 fry-day fair & clear thair came in a large prize which our men 
had taken Some days ago laden with silver and gold & other rich 
loaden She had been 3 years in her passage 



